Comments on: Animal Talk: The Pit Bull Dilemma

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Great article. For your safety and your children’s safety, I hope you choose a breed other than pitbull for your new family pet.

By: Rick K

Rick K — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:17:03 +0000

Here are a couple of stories that show the inteligent Pit Bulls just for you Pit bashers, you know who you are:

Pit Bull Saves Woman With Brain Aneurysm, Given ‘Neighbor Of The Year’ Award – http://www.aol.com/2011/10/25/pit-bull-saves-woman-brain-aneurysm-_n_1032667.html?test=latestnews

Stray Pit Bull Saves Woman, Child From Attacker – http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2668623/posts

Pit Bull Saves Woman Who Fell Down Hill – http://www.wtae.com/r/29297655/detail.html

By: Gwen Lebec

Gwen Lebec — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:26:41 +0000

Well said! They are all about their desire to have pits and have no one question them. The breeders have co-opted all these animal ‘lovers.’ If they cared about the dogs they would want to limit breeding and ownership to sane, capable dog owners!

By: Snoopy

Snoopy — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:22:15 +0000

Regardless of past studies, the odds of getting killed by any dog is slim to none. Extremely rare, and when someone puts it in a way, that 60%…… well, that can deter some from an unbiased opinion. The CDC was heavily flawed, admittedly by the CDC, and that is why it came to an abrupt halt, and they stopped tracking fatalities by breed. No official entity has since tracked fatalities by breed. They only places you will see doing this, are anti-pitbull/rottweiler organizations. The biggest flaw with the study, is the lumping of multiple breeds, including mutts together, to get a pit bull-type dog. Pit bulls is not a breed, but rather a general description for a dog, so a hound/bulldog mix or lab boxer mix could have been the killer, and it got reported as a pit-bill type dog. Lump any other category of dogs together, and the results will be similar. The study is to be taken as a grain of salt, and is classic example of an inaccurate study. The CDC includes in their report, that the study is not to be used to create public policy, because they are aware it is highly flawed. You will see anti-pit bull groups on comments boards constantly touting the CDC study, and other inaccurate studies, but if they were accurate, there would need to be a breakdown of the specific breeds that fall under the “pit bull-type” , which no one can provide.

I was never a pit bull person, but seeing them in action, and helping dogs, I decided to adopt one. I have absolutely no regrets, as it is the best dog I have ever owned. They certainly aren’t for everyone, but if you are the type that can control a lab, German Shepherd, or any other large breed, pit bulls are a fine dog. They are certainly one of the most intelligent and the most loyal canine out there. Sometimes those great qualities works against them in the wrong hands, because they will do anything to please their owners.

By: EmilyS

EmilyS — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:29:05 +0000

well of course anyone can determine for him/herself whether Karen Delise “cherrypicks” her stories or whether dogcentric is.. well, a liar. Go read the reports at NCRC

And anyone who uses the CDC report to claim that “pit bulls and rottweilers are the 2 deadliest dogs in America” is just dishonest. The CDC EXPLICITLY wrote that their report was not to be used in that way.

By: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers Top Killer Dogs List | Boston Dog Bite Lawyer Blog

Pit Bulls, Rottweilers Top Killer Dogs List | Boston Dog Bite Lawyer Blog — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:50:14 +0000

[...] study by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists pit bulls and rottweilers as the two deadliest dogs in America: [A]ttacks by pit bulls accounted [...]

By: Snoopy

Snoopy — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:30:31 +0000

Oh gosh, I see Dogcentric, (real name – Carolyn Lathrop) is at it again. What amazes me, is that she supposedly works at the Allegany County Animal Shelter in Maryland, and I wonder what her co-workers would think of her. They adopt out pit bulls at the very shelter that she supposedly works at, so I do not get it. You can find dogcentric, aka – Carolyn Lathrop all over the internet on pit bull articles pushing for BSL and extinction of all of the pit bull type dogs. Maybe she should be a little more level headed, rather than a pompous arse. She is a wordsmith is all, and all canine experts disagree with everything she says. Just another monster trying to banish pit bulls. Not even worth arguing with her, unless you want to waste a lot of time. Want to know about pit bulls, look at the Humane Society, AMVA, the ASPCA, the NCRC, or any other expert source. Even ask a local veterinarian, as they will set you straight. Don’t listen to these people that belong to anti-pit bull groups, which you can be found posting on practically every pit bull article there is. One can easily do a search for dogcentric to verify what I am saying is valid.

By: Barbara in NY

Barbara in NY — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:48:01 +0000

Jae Marciano needs to provide references for the specific citations mentioned. in the article.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:29:18 +0000

“Pit Bull” is not an actual breed of dog; it’s a term used to lump together any breed or individual dog with certain characteristics, such as a muscular build and short hair. This term covers APBTs, AmStaffs, Presa Canarios, Dogo Argentinos, American Bulldogs, Bull Terriers, Boxer mixes… That list goes on. So keeping that in mind, of course “Pit Bulls” are going to account for a whopping 33% or so of dog attacks. That’s like saying all Christians protest military funerals just because the Westboro Baptist Church protests them, or that all Muslims are out to destroy America as we know it just because some Muslims are part of anti-American/western civilization extremist groups.

I’d like to see DNA testing done on dogs involved in “Pit Bull” attacks to confirm the dog’s breed(s) before the media steps in and slaps their inaccurate labels on everything, and a better breed-by-breed breakdown of statistics before I’d quote any of that BS as being reputable.

So let’s suppose we DO start breed-testing these dogs and come up with a more appropriate statistic on bites by breed. Now let’s start looking at the situations that led to each attack. How was the dog treated and raised? Does the dog spend its life on the end of a chain or is it a truly socialized family dog? Is the dog intact or altered? Male? Female? Was it a child or an adult that was bitten? Believe it or not, chained, unaltered males are the most likely to bite, because of poor socialization and testosterone. Children are also most likely to be the ones bitten, because they are more likely to run up to a strange dog and ignore and misinterpret any warning signals displayed by the dog in question. A lot of those “He was a perfect family dog before this” stories neglect to mention that the “family dog” was chained to a stake on the ground on the corner of the property and didn’t get much more human interaction than somebody coming out to dump food and water in the empty dishes.

… CDC? Since when have dog bites become a disease? And don’t get me started on the HSUS. Suffice to say a look-through of http://humanewatch.org is in order.

By: Aimee Chagnon

Aimee Chagnon — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:05:15 +0000

I completely agree with EmilyS—I’d really hate to see what you consider an anti-pit bull article! What sources are you quoting? “Unlike all other dog breeds…” what a bizarre statement to make. Pit bulls are dogs–as such, they have the same dog DNA and doggie brain that other breeds do. I have had pit bulls for years, and bring them to my medical practice where they are adored by my patients. They get along beautifully with other dogs, are gentle with children, and both came from rough backgrounds. The incredible success with the former Vick dogs has been replicated with other former fighting dogs. Pit bulls, like other terriers and bully breeds, can be dog reactive, but ANY breed of dog can share this trait. It does not indicate a dog will be aggressive toward humans–they are separate phenomena. I agree–if you really want reliable information, read the National Canine Research Council’s work (Karen Delise). Unlike this “analysis”, it actually contains reliable data.